Remedial Karaoke
by Cuda77
Summary: After losing a friendly bet to Annie, Annie forces Jeff to relive his day with Dean Pelton when he was supposed to be helping Annie move. But when the day reaches the karaoke portion of the proceedings, things stop being so friendly and start to get more serious. Jeff/Annie.


**Community and everything to do with it does not belong to me. I'm just writing this for fun and have little to no money so suing me over it really wouldn't accomplish anything. The lyrics to "Good Enough" by Evanescence and "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole are the property of the respective writers and record companies.**

"Come on, Jeff, get in here," Annie called insistently.

For the second time in all too recently, Jeff begrudgingly stepped into the karaoke booth at the Greendale Mall. This was not how Jeff had planned to spend his Saturday, having to relive one of the most stressful and embarrassing days of last year. But Annie had won their bet fair and square. It had all started the previous weekend at Troy, Abed and Annie's apartment where the study group had gathered for Abed's big Emmy Awards party. Wanting to make things interesting and fun, Abed had made everyone fill out predictions of who would win each award. But Annie had cornered Jeff and proposed a friendly wager between the two based on their results since they were both sure nobody was going to beat Abed (and that did turn out to be the case when Abed correctly predicted every winner). As the night wore on, the two traded victories back and forth the entire show until it came down to the winner for Best Drama. Annie had won by picking Mad Men over Jeff's pick of Game Of Thrones.

Jeff hadn't really expected anything too difficult from Annie when it came to what she won. She'd probably just make him take his own notes in History class for an entire week. But she had thrown Jeff a real curveball when she came forward with her terms of victory. She had remembered how Jeff had bailed on the study group the day they were moving Annie into the apartment and wanted to know just what was so exciting that he did that could warrant him skipping out on such an important day. So she said Jeff was going to take her on the same day that he had with Dean Pelton. He wouldn't have to spend any money on her but they were going to the same places to do the same things the dean had blackmailed Jeff into doing.

So Jeff picked her up in the morning and the two first went shopping at Gap. Jeff decided to capitalize on the opportunity and got himself some new jeans that Annie had insisted on him to model for her so she could give her critique. He also bought Annie a couple new cardigans that she had been eyeing, that made her give him one of the hardest hugs he'd ever gotten. She was thrilled to have something new from a designer brand for the first time since her parents had cut her off and swore to Jeff that she'd repay him for them soon. After that, the two had a very pleasant lunch at Senor Kevin's. Annie thankfully did not insist on having the mariachi band serenade them while they ate like the dean had for Jeff. Also unlike Dean Pelton, Annie also managed to order her food herself and pay for it to boot.

But then came the part of the day that Jeff was dreading most. Sure, Annie had been completely cool up until now with reliving the day so that Jeff had actually managed to enjoy himself. But he knew that she had something up her sleeve for singing karaoke together that was likely to once again cause him great shame. Although she had sworn on all her stuffed animals that she wouldn't tweet them singing, he knew this still wouldn't be pretty. So now he was back in the booth surrounded by green screens as Annie pawed through the song selection. Annie had paid for a full hour to themselves so Jeff knew that multiple songs were going to be on the agenda.

"Do you have any requests?" Annie asked Jeff over her shoulder.

"You mean besides that we get this over as quickly as possible?" Jeff replied, slouching against the back wall of the booth.

"Oh come on Jeff, this won't be so bad. We're just going to sing some songs. It'll be fun."

"Annie, I can't sing worth a damn. I don't even sing in the shower because I'm afraid my hair will rebel against me for putting it through such horrors."

"That's nonsense Jeff," said Annie, turning to face him with a frown on her face. "I've heard you sing a few times for the Glee club and you weren't bad at all. Sure, you're not as good as Shirley or Troy but you're nowhere near as bad as Britta is. Come on, let's pick something out." Annie watched as Jeff tensed up and she rolled her eyes and huffed out an indignant sigh. "Fine, I'll do the first one by myself. But you're going to sing, mister. You owe me and if you don't meet your end of the bargain, you're taking your own notes all semester in History."

"Well, when you put it like that, fine, I'll do it. But you're still doing the first one."

Jeff walked into the corner of the booth while Annie resumed flipping through the song list. At one point, though, she paused and Jeff saw her bite her lip nervously. She glanced at Jeff and their eyes met for a brief moment before Jeff looked away sheepishly since he'd gotten caught staring at her. Annie took a deep breath and made her choice. A soft piano introduction began to play as Annie grabbed the microphone and held tightly onto it, trembling a little bit. Instead of looking at the lyrics, Annie looked over at Jeff since she'd memorized this song long ago.

_"Under your spell again.  
__I can't say no to you.  
__Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand.  
__I can't say no to you._

_Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly.  
__Now I can't let go of this dream.  
__I can't breathe but I feel..._

_Good enough.  
__I feel good enough  
__For you..._

_Drink up sweet decadence.  
__I can't say no to you.  
__And I've completely lost myself and I don't mind.  
__I can't say no to you._

_Shouldn't let you conquer me completely.  
__Now I can't let go of this dream.  
__Can't believe that I feel…_

_Good enough.  
__I feel good enough.  
__It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good._

_And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall.  
__Pour real life down on me.  
__Cause I can't hold onto anything this good…enough.  
__Am I good enough…  
__For you to love me too?_

_Ahh…aah…_

_So take care what you ask of me  
__Cause I can't say no."_

The song ended and Jeff swallowed hard and felt his entire body tingling as Annie tentatively put her microphone back into the stand. Even though she'd looked directly at Jeff the whole time she sang, now she was too scared to make eye contact with him. She'd just sung her heart out and basically proclaimed her love to him and she was scared to see how he'd react. Annie hadn't planned on singing a song like that but she came across the song and remembered listening to that song over and over again as a teenager, imagining herself singing it to Troy when she did. For whatever reason, she decided to be bold and sing it to Jeff since he was the one who'd inspire her to feel like that nowadays.

"Your turn," Annie whispered softly, still scared to look at Jeff. Jeff hesitated a moment but then walked over to the monitor to peruse the song bank.

"What song should I pick?" Jeff asked, his voice noticeably higher than usual.

"I dunno, something that means something to you," answered Annie as she slid back to where Jeff had been standing.

While Jeff was preoccupied with looking for a song, Annie finally brought herself to look at him. He didn't appear angry or upset at all; he looked more shell-shocked than anything as Annie noticed his legs looked a bit wobbly and his arm was covered in goosebumps. Jeff was completely stumped for picking out a song after what had just happened. He looked over to Annie to try and gain some inspiration and saw her looking very nervous and vulnerable. Annie had started the song kind of shaky but by the second verse had found her confidence and put everything into singing it. Jeff could tell this wasn't a case like in Mr. Rad's costume closet over Christmas where Annie was trying to brainwash him by using his libido against him. No, she fucking meant everything she just sang to him and now she was looking so fragile after doing it that Jeff didn't want to screw things up and completely shatter her. Annie had just laid everything out on the line for him and he decided she deserved a fitting response. Smiling slightly at her, Jeff returned to looking for the perfect song. He was extremely grateful when he found one that he'd also known by heart and after one final moment of hesitation, he made his selection and picked up the microphone. As the introduction played, Jeff stepped over to Annie and looked deeply into her eyes.

_"Unforgettable…  
__That's what you are.  
__Unforgettable…  
__Though near or far._

_Like a song of love that clings to me,  
__How the thought of you does things to me.  
__Never before has someone been more…_

_Unforgettable…  
__In every way.  
__And forever more  
__That's how you'll stay._

_That's why, darling, it's incredible  
__That someone so unforgettable  
__Thinks that I am  
__Unforgettable, too."_

During the brief interlude in the song, Jeff reached out to cup Annie's cheek with his hand. Her eyes fluttered as his thumb brushed over her lips. Jeff then leaned down and placed a tiny, chaste kiss on her lips and Annie nearly melted to the floor. Instead of stepping back to where he'd been, Jeff stayed face to face with Annie as he threaded his hand into Annie's hair. Annie opened her eyes and tried to suppress the tears welling up in them as she looked into Jeff's shining ones as he sang the last verses.

"_Unforgettable…  
__In every way.  
__And forever more  
__That's how you'll stay._

_That's why, darling, it's incredible  
__That someone so unforgettable  
__Thinks that I am  
__Unforgettable, too."_

Jeff reached behind him to put the microphone away, never letting go of Annie as he did. Once it was secure, he snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her body against his. He dipped his head down once more to claim her lips with his and she sighed happily against his mouth. Annie's tongue poked out and requested access to Jeff's mouth. Jeff granted the request and their tongues entwined, sending shockwaves pulsing through both of their bodies. Annie grabbed tightly onto the front of Jeff's shirt as he kissed her, afraid that even with him holding onto her tightly, she'd pass out if she didn't hold onto him. After a few minutes of tenderly exploring each other's mouths, the two finally broke apart, breathing slightly heavier as they rested their foreheads against each other.

"This has become more than just singing karaoke, hasn't it?" Annie asked quietly, feeling like she had to be soft so the moment wouldn't be broken.

"It certainly would appear that way," replied Jeff, a bemused little smile creeping onto his face.

"I wasn't planning on this happening," said Annie, suddenly nervous again. "I just wanted a nice day of hanging out with just you. This wasn't some big plot of mine to get us together. You know that right?"

Jeff nodded and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before answering, "I do. I believe you Annie. Although I'm certainly not upset things have turned out this way. This has probably been meant to be for awhile now so it was bound to happen eventually."

"Really? You think so? So you're not scared of being with me anymore?"

"I won't lie, I still am a little bit. But I figure that if you're willing to take that big of a risk like you did when you sang that song to me, then I can certainly swallow my fears and take a big risk too. I have a pretty good feeling you're well worth it."

For the second time that day, Annie threw her arms around Jeff and hugged him so tight he thought she may just snap his spine. Jeff returned the embrace, lightly rubbing her back as he did. He could feel Annie shaking slightly against him and he heard muffled sobs coming from his chest. For once, Jeff didn't feel shame for making Annie cry but instead felt a rush of pride because he knew they were tears of joy and that he'd been the cause of them. Finally, she relented on her death-grip of Jeff's midsection and dabbed the tears from her eyes.

"So, what should we do now," Jeff asked. "Any more songs you have in mind?

"No, I think I'm all karaoke'd out for today."

"But you paid for a whole hour of time. We probably shouldn't waste it."

Annie chuckled and gave Jeff a kiss on the cheek before whispering in his ear, "I'd say I've gotten way more than my money's worth for this, wouldn't you?"

Jeff had to smile at that and he kissed the back of her hand. "I'd say so. But this would be where our day ends since after this, I finally got fed up with the dean and left for your place. But I really wouldn't like this to end and I'd wager a lot that you don't either. So, what would you like to do next, milady?"

"Well, milord, that would be one wager you'd actually win this time. However, I think this day has become more than just about me and I think you've earned the right to choose what we do next."

"Very well. How does going back to my place, watching some movies, having a couple drinks and me making us a nice dinner sound?"

"As I said before Jeff, right now, I can't say 'no' to you. So I think that sounds completely wonderful."

With that, the two walked out of the booth arm in arm, eager to enjoy a nice evening in each other's company. Before they left, they were stopped by the attendant working there whose eyes were red and puffy from crying. She then gave them both free copies of their karaoke videos due to both of them being so touching while singing them. Jeff and Annie both took the tapes from her and blushed as she dissolved into more tears and thickly thanked the two for making her day with their display. With their respective proclamations of affection now in hand, Jeff and Annie headed back to Jeff's car and sped off for his apartment.


End file.
